Cryptocurrencies
BitMEX Founder Hayes Avoids Prison on Bank Secrecy Charge
- Hayes pleaded guilty over money-launder laxity, gets probation
- BitMEX in August agreed to pay $100 million over its practices
Arthur Hayes
Photographer: Michael Nagle/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes was spared from prison despite admitting he failed to guard against money laundering at the pioneering cryptocurrency exchange, which the US blames for hundreds of millions of dollars in shady transactions.
On Friday a federal judge sentenced Hayes to two years’ probation, after Hayes and BitMEX’s other founders were charged in 2020 with violating the Bank Secrecy Act, which requires the establishment of such safeguards, including verifying the identities of an exchange’s customers.